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Category Archive: Global ReLeaf

Yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that $323 million will be allocated to 41 states and Puerto Rico as part of a one-year reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS). For those of you who aren’t familiar with the SRS bill, it first passed in 2000 at a time […]

Want to see some of the cutest things ever? No, we’re not talking about yawning pandas or kitties. We’re talking about some enthusiastic, creative kids sharing why they love forests and trees. For the last few years, American Forests has been teaming with Scotties Facial Tissue on TREES ROCK!, an educational program aimed at kids […]

Being sick is no fun. But, as a glass-half-full kind of girl, I have always appreciated the reality check, reminding me not to take my health — or our growing knowledge of how to combat disease — for granted. I was recently prescribed some antibiotics by my doctor for strep throat, bringing pharmaceuticals onto my […]

By Michelle Werts This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that 2012 was the warmest and second most extreme weather year on record for the lower 48 states. The agency reports that the average temperature in 2012 was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 3.3 degrees above the 20th century yearly average and […]

Last week’s fiscal cliff deal included a nine-month extension for the Farm Bill. While the deal doesn’t provide mandatory funding to energy programs in the Farm Bill, it does extend most conservation provisions that are already (or set to be) expired, like the Wetlands Reserve Program and Healthy Forests Reserve Program. Other programs like EQIP, […]

A national park that speaks to the thrill of exploration celebrates its birthday today. Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota became the nation’s 36th national park when Richard Nixon signed it into creation in 1971, but don’t plan on taking in its sites in your car. This “Land of Lakes” is more than a third water […]

By Michelle Werts Nature can be hard on trees. There are floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. Then, there are bugs and disease. Basically, trees are fighting a lot of forces to survive, which is why it’s so disheartening when trees are lost deliberately to human folly. While there can be a lot of human folly to […]

Yesterday brought more good news for the Southwestern willow flycatcher. Back in October, I wrote about New Mexico’s two newly designated national wildlife refuges — areas that in addition to creating great outdoor recreational opportunities for New Mexico communities, protect valuable habitat for the willow flycatcher. Well, the flycatcher is on a roll. Yesterday, the […]

By Michelle Werts For years, one of my holiday gifts to my wildlife-loving brother has been a wall calendar featuring gorgeous photography of wolves, polar bears or anything else that really pops that year. This year’s calendar was “Wild Cats,” featuring the biggest and baddest felines around. I bought it with a little bit of […]

As most people celebrated the New Year with confetti and champagne, Congress was on Capitol Hill trying to reach a last-minute agreement. The New Year’s negotiations finally ended when House Republicans agreed to a deal passed in the Senate, which was pulled together by Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY). But even though […]